The Gospel According to St Matthew

Chapter 13

Jesus explains why He teaches with parables—He gives the parables of the sower, the wheat and the tares, the grain of mustard seed, the leaven, the treasure hidden in the field, the pearl of great price, and the net cast into the sea—A prophet is not honored by his own people.

2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

5 Some fell upon astony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

7 And some fell among athorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

8 But other fell into good ground, and abrought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in aparables?

11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the amysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

12 aFor whosoever hath, to him shall be bgiven, and he shall have more cabundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall ahear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

15 For this people’s aheart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their beyes they have cclosed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should dheal them.

16 But blessed are your aeyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

17 For verily I say unto you, That many aprophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and aunderstandethit not, then cometh the wicked one, and bcatcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

20 But he that received the seed into astony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this aworld, and the bdeceitfulness of criches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that aheareth the word, and bunderstandeth it; which also beareth cfruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

24 ¶Another aparable put he forth unto them, saying, The bkingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good cseed in his field:

25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed atares among the wheat, and went his way.

26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.

30 Let both grow together until the aharvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together bfirst the tares, and bind them in bundles to cburn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

31 ¶Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a agrain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:

32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the abirds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

33 ¶Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto aleaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:

35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in aparables; I will utter things which have been kept bsecret from the foundation of the world.

36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the atares of the field.

37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good aseed is the Son of man;

38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the atares are the children of the wicked one;

39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; athebharvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the aend of this world.

41 The Son of man shall send forth his aangels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that boffend, and them which do iniquity;

42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be awailing and bgnashing of teeth.

43 Then shall the arighteousbshine forth as the csun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

44 ¶Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto atreasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

45 ¶Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:

46 Who, when he had found one apearl of great price, went and sold ball that he had, and bought it.

47 ¶Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and agathered of every kind:

48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.

52 Then said he unto them, Therefore every ascribebwhich is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

53 ¶And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.

54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were aastonished, and said, Whence hath this man this bwisdom, and these mighty works?

55 Is not this the carpenter’s ason? is not his mother called Mary? and his bbrethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?

56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?

57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without ahonour, save in his own country, and in his own house.